John 1:4
"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men."

John 8:32
"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

John 14:6
"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through Me."

MONTHLY LESSONS DESIGNED TO CONVERT.

APRIL, 2017 - NEW KING JAMES VERSION

“The Nature of Truth!”

2 Peter 1:3
“as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life
and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and
virtue”

If you look
hard at this passage, God has not
instructed us regarding the mundane daily tasks of life like; cooking,
hygiene, home construction, etc… In the end, life is really not about these
things!

Instead,
God has given us the essential principles of life and godliness. If we take
hold of what has been revealed, not only will we escape the corruption that
is in the world, but we will also be partakers of the divine nature.

2 Peter 1:4
“by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises,
that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

All of this
is obtained and maintained in this life to an inheritance to be received;
that cannot be taken away, only given up individually. How? By grasping the
knowledge that God has supplied unto life and godliness! The knowledge of
God empowers us to develop a Christian character (a character pertaining to
Christ – the Master teacher); to literally develop godliness in our lives,
which in turn produces a divine nature.

2 Peter 1:5-7
“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith
virtue, to virtue knowledge,
6
to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance
godliness,
7
to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”

God’s word
is literally a map of the environment of the human life, seen through the
Divine perspective. It has been given to us to illustrate the singular Way
for all men to come to their Creator.

John 14:6
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through Me.”

John 20:30-31
“And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples,
which are not written in this book;
31
but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son
of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

To know how
to behave in His house
– 1
Timothy 3:15“but if I am
delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct
yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the
pillar and ground of the truth.”

To know what sin
is,
and avoid it – 1 John 2:1“My little children, these things I
write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an
Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

1 John 3:4 “Whoever
commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”

To
accomplish everything good in this life,
as prescribed by God – 2 Timothy 3:16-17“All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be
complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

To know
eternal life
– 1
John 5:13“These things I
have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may
know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe
in the name of the Son of God.”

WHAT AN AMAZING BOOK!

·
Truth is Absolute.

We need to understand that this Book is truth and that truth is absolute. I
did not originate this story, nor do I know who did, but it makes a perfect
illustration concerning the absolute nature of truth.

“A businessman was interviewing applicants for the position of divisional
manager. He devised a simple test to select the most suitable person for the
job. He asked each applicant the question, “What is two and two?” The first
interviewee was a journalist. His answer was “twenty two”.

The second applicant was an
engineer. He pulled out a calculator and showed the answer to be between
3.999 and 4.001. The next person was a lawyer. He stated that in the case of
Jenkins v. Commissioner of Stamp Duties, two and two was proven to be four.
The last applicant was an accountant. The businessman asked him, “How much
is two and two?” The accountant got up from his chair, went over to the
door, closed it then came back and sat down. He leaned across the desk and
said in a low voice, “How much do you want it to be?”

Unlike this humorous story, truth is not relative. Absolutes cannot be
circumvented without great consequences; to both the public and the
individual.

·
Application of Truth is Relative.

This is not a contradiction, it is based on the absolute nature of truth and
where an individual is in
knowing and obeying it.

In Acts, the question, “What must I
do?” is asked twice; and answered in more than one way!

To believers, the answer is, “Repent
and be baptized” – Acts 2:37-38 “Now
when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter
and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
38
Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

To the completely unacquainted with the great story of Jesus, it is;
“Believe on the Lord Jesus” –
Acts
16:30-33“And
he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31
So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you
and your household.”32
Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his
house.
33
And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes.
And immediately he and all his family were baptized.”

The absolute truth is that one must believe, repent, and be baptized to be
saved, but what any individual needs to do at any point in their lives, is
relative to the steps he has already taken! A believer does not need to
believe for he has already done that, but he does need to repent. A
repentant obedient believer does not need to repent, but be baptized and
continue in the faith that comes from hearing the word of God (Romans
10:17).

Thus; truth is absolute, but the application is relative to the individuals
understand based on truth!

·
Absolute Standard.

There is a standard by which to judge where we all will stand relative to
absolute truth. To this end, it becomes necessary for every individual to
not only know, but define these absolutes in order to apply them
relatively to each of our lives.

We have to agree on the standard of absolute truth; and stop debating that
everyone can interpret it individually in a different manner!

2 Peter 1:19-21
“And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed
as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning
star rises in your hearts; 20
knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private
interpretation, 21 for
prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they
were moved by the Holy Spirit.”

God’s Word
is the ultimate and comprehensive standard. By scripture we can judge every
aspect of our being.

Hebrews 4:12
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart.”

The knowledge of God’s truth is objective and discernible and we must seek
it regardless of the difficulty involved because only by knowing it and
applying it can we become partakers of the divine nature!!!

No one can find true contentment in this life apart from the absolute truth
of God’s Word!